The Kennedy Tragedy

Sir: The Edward Kennedy tragedy [Aug. 1] shows in a symbolic way much of what is wrong with the liberal politician today. While looking all over the land for peoples to be saved--blacks, Puerto Ricans, the poor, Mexicans, Eskimos--Mr. Kennedy and his associates, when confronted with the opportunity of saving a single but real human life, failed miserably to take any action. They were paralyzed by "grief, fear, doubt, exhaustion, panic, confusion and shock."

RAFAEL CARAPELLA San Francisco

Sir: Now that the Kennedy bubble has burst, has it been just a bubble? Was it a highly organized spectacular, glistening and eye-catching enough to serve as a short cut to high office but lacking in maturity and substance? The people of the U.S. would do well to place the fortunes of our country in the hands of those who have won their spurs each step of the way.

J. R. RINKER

Augusta, Ga.

Sir: At last someone ventured to express the unanswered questions crucial to the character of a possible presidential candidate. Perhaps the electorate of Massachusetts can disregard the negligence and irresponsibility of Kennedy's contestable behavior but, with your unrestrained query, can the nation?

MRS. MICHAEL SELLS Madison, Wis.

Sir: The disclosure regarding McNamara plus the usual touch-up boys--Sorensen and brother-in-law Smith--should help eradicate the illusions most housefraus entertain about the Kennedy myths . . . and their spontaneous eloquence.

MRS. J. BIRLING Philadelphia

Sir: That no comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of Mary Jo Kopechne's death has been made is alarming. That Kennedy is permitted to avoid investigation via a guilty plea to a relatively minor offense and then to generate sympathy with unverified emotional answers to his own selected questions is a discredit to this nation's legal and political systems.

G. PATRICK MARTIN Indialantic, Fla.

Sir: Senator Kennedy has related what happened--he admitted that his conduct after the accident was indefensible. He pleaded guilty in court. He went to the people he represents and asked their help in deciding whether or not to resign. His constituents have advised him that they wish him to continue as their Senator. The matter should be closed. The only unanswered questions are those that are either by their nature unanswerable or by their implication unworthy of consideration.

WILLIAM J. COWAN West Lynn, Mass.

Sir: I ask you to consider what would happen to a private citizen who, heading "out to the dunes" after a party with a girl in his car, drove off the road and killed the girl--then crept quietly away from the scene without saying anything to anyone, leaving car and corpse to be discovered the next day without his assistance. The laws covering a situation like this are stringent--nay, merciless. Such a private citizen would pay a very stiff price indeed for his irresponsible behavior. Yet it seems that Edward Kennedy intends to pay no price at all.

That girl might be alive today if he had acted with the decision, courage and integrity that a leader is supposed to have, instead of with the opposite on every count. The Senate, officially unshocked by a shocking occurrence, has just knocked one more prop out of the taxpayer's already shaky trust in his government.

GORDON N. WALKER Morristown, N.J.

Sir: As a descendant of a family which settled in Leominster, Mass., in 1781, with ancestors who battled in our devastating Civil War, I am interested in the sanctity and safety of this our nation as a major power.

It is essential that our leaders be equipped with the quality of stability, a trait the Senator has clearly demonstrated he does not possess. Following the tragic event on Martha's Vineyard, Senator Kennedy demonstrated his inability to act with clarity of mind in the face of personal crisis. The legal advice at his elbow was not worthy of that respected profession. It worries me that this young man would be no better advised when the safety of my fellow Americans is involved. The grief that has plagued the Kennedy family is sorely regretted, but in the interests of our national security, Senator Kennedy would be doing a noble service to retire from our governmental councils. HOWARD L. CHASE Lebanon, N,H.

Sir: I, for one, have not lost my confidence and faith in Ted Kennedy. His leadership of such groups as the young, the black and the oppressed has earned my full endorsement far beyond that of any other major political figure. His opposition to the Viet Nam war and the ABM system, his concern about the Nigerian-Biafran struggle and the Arab-Israeli conflict, his remarkable record in the Senate and his service as Majority Whip have not been obliterated from my mind.

I endorse Ted's staying on in the Senate. As for his quest for the presidency, I believe that he could bring not only dedication and wisdom but a forward look, youth, vitality and the solution to the many problems that beset this country and the rest of the world. Ted is the best choice for peace and victory in 1972.

NANCY M. SCHIMPF Sterling Heights, Mich.

Sir: I would hope that had it been his wife or children in that car, he would not have decided to go to sleep before reporting the accident.

KATHERINE TARDIO Mendham, N.J.

Sir: You stated that Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield noted that after all, even a politician is human. What an asinine statement; Senator Mansfield should be ashamed of himself. Ted Kennedy's conduct was inhuman.

GENE MACK Quincy, Mass.

Sir: "When he came to himself again, he said, if he had done or said anything amiss, he desired their worships to think it was his infirmity. Three or four wenches, where I stood, cried 'Alas, good soul!' and forgave him with all their hearts; but there's no heed to be taken of them; if Caesar had stabbed their mothers, they would have done no less." Casca in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

E. A. GREGORY Aiken, S.C.

Sir: Ted Kennedy asked for a public judgment of his actions. Editorials have been written, letters have been sent and polls have been taken. How does TIME'S mail count stand? How many letters have you received on the subject and what's the verdict?

PEGGY MENENDEZ Coral Gables, Fla.

> By week's end, the Kennedy mail totaled 1,258 letters. Only two events since TIME'S founding have brought a greater initial reaction: the assassination of John F. Kennedy and last summer's Democratic Convention. Of the 1,172 readers who voiced an opinion on Ted Kennedy, 823 generally criticized the Senator and 349 expressed forgiveness and/or confidence.

Space on Earth

Sir: Congratulations on the initiation of your Environment section [Aug. 1]. In our rush to conquer space we must not lose sight of the need to conserve some space here on earth where we can enjoy nature and clean air and water. As our population grows and urban America expands, we must not allow the last oasis of nature and wilderness to be plowed under and cemented over.

Our vast natural resources, which we once took for granted, are in danger of vanishing beyond the point of no return. Protection of those resources should be the vital concern of all Americans. If we are not careful, our earth landscape could become as barren and as uninviting as the moon. The future is entitled to a greener heritage than that.

HUGH SCOTT

U.S. Senator Washington, D.C.

Sir: What is happening to Lake Erie constitutes a warning to mankind. The world's twelfth largest lake, Erie serves 11.5 million people in the U.S. and Canada in terms of water supply, recreation, commercial fishing and shipping. In addition, the annual value added by manufacturing in the Erie Basin stands at more than $17 billion. By the year 2000, the population served by the lake will have dou. bled, and so will the industry of the basin. With so many people and industries dependent upon it, Lake Erie must be passed on to future generations in a condition of unlimited usefulness.

CARL L. KLEIN Assistant Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C.

Sir: The despoliation of the American earth and the abuse of the life-giving resources of the planet is a historic scandal that must be checked. I can think of no subject that will need more incisive, hard-hitting reporting in the years ahead; so naturally it delights me to see TIME turning its energies and communications skills to this important battleground.

TIME'S concern over the environment's deterioration gives us fresh hope that this fight can be won. Indeed, it must be, for man's own survival is very much at stake. STEWART L. UDALL Overview Washington, D.C.

Sir: Abuse of the environment is too much of a heritage to be restricted easily. "If-we-can-go-to-the-moon"-type arguments about technological solutions are empty until restrictions are willingly and personally accepted by every striking garbage worker or driver of a smoking auto. In other words, don't hold your breath until we can breathe again.

PETER S. DWAN Executive President Urban Systems Inc. Los Angeles

Sir: Your new section may well become the most important in your magazine. As man makes his giant leap forward into space, he should have firmer footing than a garbage dump.

ROBERT J. HOLDEN National Park Service Fort Davis, Texas

Sir: We think that Americans are far more ready to act for environmental quality than public action to date indicates. A survey of state bond elections that we conducted recently indicates that most Americans not only want to clean up but are willing to pay the price. In the last five years, 17.6 million citizens of nine states have voted on state bonding for water-pollution control. A majority in each state and a total of 11.7 million--two out of three--said, in effect, "Yes, tax me more for clean water."

SYDNEY HOWE President

The Conservation Foundation Washington, D.C.

Triumph on the Moon

Sir: I'm half American Indian, I belong to a Black Baptist church. I have no love for the people of "middle America." I spent most of my life in a Los Angeles slum and my last four years of high school in white, middle-class America. If I had a choice between the two for my children, it would not be the latter. However, I confess to being excited about the moon landing. I would have felt the same had it been Russia or Red China. It's the first time in my life I've seen the possibility of a reprieve for mankind.

We are all selfish these days and so in love with ourselves and our causes--myself included. It seems to me that we've needed something bigger than all of us for some time now to put mankind in the right perspective. I would not say, "If we can put men on the moon, why can't we build adequate housing or feed all our citizens?" I would ask, "Why can't the trip to the moon and exploration of space inspire us to see social injustices, our cruel war, and our long and foolish fight with nature?"

I guess what I've been trying to say is that the accomplishment of the goals I believe in is more important to me than labels. If we give the moon to "middle America," it would be the equivalent of giving Christ to the Christians.

(MRS.) JERI TIPTON Boise, Idaho

Sir: I cannot recall a more successful program undertaken by the Government than our space program, which exceeded its goal sooner than planned and for less than originally estimated. Its usefulness cannot be overestimated. As stated in "SpinOffs from Space" [Aug. 1], the applicability of space-age technology in every field of human endeavor "is as wide-ranging as the human imagination." But because of its very conspicuousness, it has been attacked by all those so concerned with pressing problems here on earth, while they ignore the egregious crimes of Viet Nam and our military, which dwarf the space program both in money and lives that have been squandered. These pious critics are akin to a policeman who arrests a jaywalker while ignoring a bank robbery.

EDWARD McKiTRiCK Akron

Sir: The full impact of the event will not be felt for some time to come, perhaps years. Much as the Wright brothers' first flight and Lindbergh's epic changed forever the environment of man on earth, so will the moon landing change forever man's dependence upon his own earth for survival. The cosmos is his. Its vastness, which holds all the answers to life and death, is but now space to be transited in this effort.

WALTER F. MCCORMICK Mount Holly, N.I.

Sir: Thoughts while jogging: a future Apollo shot lands on the moon to recover machinery from Surveyor and Apollo 11, and it's gone.

NORMAN SEYFERT Minneapolis

Sir: By landing on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have fulfilled the dream of millions. But why dp some Americans play it down by calling it a universal feat? It is the finest tribute to the most dynamic people in the world and their system.

VINOD K. BANSAL, M.D. Winnipeg, Manitoba

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